Journal of food science and technology(Iran)

Journal of food science and technology(Iran)

Impact of Cold Plasma Pretreatments on Drying Behavior and Kinetic Characteristics of Barberry under two Drying Methods (Hot air dryer Vs. Microwave)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
hamid Khafajeh 1
Mohsen Dalvi-Isfahan 2
1 Biosystems Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Jahrom University, Jahrom, Iran
2 Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Jahrom University, P.O. Box 74135-111, Jahrom, Iran
10.48311/fsct.2026.119207.83053
Abstract
Barberry (Berberis vulgaris L.) is a highly perishable fruit due to its high moisture content. This study investigated the effect of cold plasma pretreatments, including dielectric barrier discharge (DBD; 3 and 6 min) and Glide plasma (1 and 2 min), combined with microwave and hot air drying methods. The results showed that the drying time of the control samples was about 1280 min under hot air drying and 15 min under microwave drying. Plasma pretreatment significantly shortened the drying time. In the DBD treatment, the drying time decreased to about 930 min in hot air drying and 10.5–11.5 min in microwave drying, while Glide plasma reduced the drying time to approximately 1200–1230 min and 10.5–12 min under hot air and microwave drying, respectively. On average, plasma treated samples exhibited a 45% reduction in drying time and a 20–30% increase in drying rate compared with the control. Among the evaluated models, the Midilli et al. model provided the best fit to the experimental data with R² values ranging from 0.9900 to 0.999. The effective moisture diffusivity (Deff) ranged from 6.88×10⁻⁸ to 9.73×10⁻⁶ m²/s, with the highest value observed in the DBD–microwave treatment and the lowest in the Glide–hot air combination. Overall, the findings indicate that cold plasma pretreatment, particularly when combined with microwave drying, can significantly enhance drying efficiency and mass transfer in barberry.
Keywords
Microwave heating
Hot‑air drying
Cold plasma
Thin‑layer modeling
Moisture ratio
Drying rate
Subjects
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